US DOE closes $1.4bn loan to Nissan to advance electric vehicles

29 January 2010

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has closed its $1.4bn loan agreement with Nissan North America to refurbish its Smyrna, Tennessee, factory used to build advanced electric automobiles and an advanced battery manufacturing facility.

‘This is an investment in our clean energy future. It will bring the US closer to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and help lower carbon pollution,’ said US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. ‘We are committed to making strides to revitalise the American auto industry and supporting the development of clean energy vehicles.’

Nissan plans to use the proceeds from the loan to produce its all-electric vehicle, the LEAF, at its existing Smyrna plant. Nissan said it will offer electric vehicles to fleet and retail customers, and plans to ramp up production capacity in Smyrna to as many as 150,000 vehicles annually. The company also said it is pursuing a global strategy of transitioning to electric vehicles, building a new manufacturing plant in Smyrna to produce 200,000 battery packs annually as part of that strategy.

Nissan is also laying the groundwork in developing an infrastructure in the US to support electric vehicles and has formed partnerships with states, counties, municipalities, and electric utilities to prepare markets for the introduction of electric vehicles including the installation of charging stations.

The loan is the third loan arrangement agreement signed by the DOE with an advanced vehicle manufacturer via its Loan Programs Office, which supports the development of innovative and advanced vehicle technologies. In September 2009, the DOE signed its first loan agreement for $5.9bn to Ford Motor Company. Last week it also signed a $465m loan agreement with Tesla Motors, which will be used to build manufacturing facilities in California for electric power-trains and Tesla’s Model S electric sedan. Tenneco became the first advanced technology component manufacturer to obtain a conditional commitment from the DOE in October 2009. The Department has also recently signed a conditional commitment with Fisker Automotive to build plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The DOE was provided $7.5bn for credit subsidy costs by Congress to cover up to $25bn in direct loans to companies making cars and components in US factories that increase fuel economy at least 25 per cent above 2005 fuel economy levels.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: electric vehicles

This story was published on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 12:12 pm and is filed under North America, deals, energy efficiency. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “US DOE closes $1.4bn loan to Nissan to advance electric vehicles”

1. Sam Porter says:

   29 January 2010 at 6:43 pm

   This is still another giveaway of our money to the Japanese when DOE did not support Aptera, ZAP, Bright, Eco-Motors, XP or any of the real American auto applicants… Could anything be more corrupt and croney-ridden with our money ..Lachlan Stweward and Steven Chu screwed us again

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